Marrakech – Chinese automotive giant Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is pushing into Morocco’s satellite communications market through its aerospace subsidiary Geespace. The move is part of a broader expansion across North Africa and emerging markets worldwide.
Geespace signed a memorandum of understanding last year with Soremar Group, a Casablanca-based firm that dominates Morocco’s marine electronics market with over 80% market share.
The deal aims to deploy and commercialize GEESATCOM, Geespace’s low-earth-orbit Internet of Things satellite constellation, across Morocco and the wider North African region.
Under the agreement, the two companies will collaborate on constellation system testing, market expansion, and scenario-based applications. Soremar’s deep local presence and operational reach will serve as the foundation for rolling out GEESATCOM services in Morocco. The partnership targets critical sectors including transportation, energy, and agriculture.
Geely, a Hangzhou-based Fortune 500 company, is China’s second-largest automaker after BYD. Founded in the 1990s as a motorcycle manufacturer, the group has since grown into a sprawling technology conglomerate with interests stretching from automobiles to aerospace and digital services.
Geespace, its wholly-owned satellite subsidiary, was founded in 2018 and began launching satellites in 2022.
The constellation reached a major milestone in September 2025 with the completion of its Phase-1 deployment. Geespace now operates 64 satellites in orbit.
The network provides global coverage excluding polar regions and supports up to 340 million communications per day for as many as 20 million users. It delivers 1,900-byte message capability for text, voice, and image transmission.
In its first overseas deployment test in Oman in June 2024, GEESATCOM recorded a 99.15% communication success rate and network availability exceeding 99.97%.
The Morocco partnership fits into Geespace’s aggressive international push. The company has secured more than 20 operator partnerships across key emerging markets.
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It established a joint venture with Malaysian telecom company ALTEL, signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia’s Advanced Telecommunications Solutions and Services, and most recently struck a deal with Systems & Services Limited in Bangladesh.
Geespace’s focus regions include the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The company reports operations in over 20 countries across those regions.
The satellite bet aligns with Morocco’s growing automotive sector. The country produced more than one million vehicles last year and exported over $14 billion in cars, making it Africa’s largest vehicle exporter and placing it among the world’s top 20 producers.
The rise of electric vehicles has made precision navigation and satellite connectivity increasingly critical for the industry.
Geely is also working with Algeria on separate satellite projects, including a satellite manufacturing facility and a research and applications center. A third agreement with the Algerian Space Agency focuses on manufacturing low-earth-orbit satellites.
By working with both governments separately, Geely is treading carefully across a volatile geopolitical landscape. Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021, and tensions between the two North African rivals remain deeply entrenched.
Compared with traditional satellite communications, GEESATCOM’s IoT services offer lower costs and flexible service tiers. In China, the system has completed successful testing in sectors including marine fisheries, construction machinery, smart mobility, logistics, and robotaxi operations.
Geespace has built full capabilities across the space, ground, and application segments. These range from constellation system design and satellite mass production to communication chipsets and diversified terminals. The company boasts 100% on-orbit reliability for its current fleet.
